think lakes have really been under appreciated in the carbon budget just because total surface area welltivens and forests, they are not huge. but the rates at which they are processing carbon is far, far faster than say the open ocean. >> as oceans become more acidic, they soak up less carbon. environmental activists say this is exactly the kind of science that should transform our approach to the world's carbon problem. >> we need good applied science to figure out how we actually achieve this. if we can use the applied science to set out what we need to achieve, we can hand over to the economists and social scientists to figure out the detail of how we get there. >> reporter: so far governments aren't doing much with this research, but there is excitement building over how it might be applied. and the salt lakes of the north american prairies could be part of the solution. daniel lak, al jazeera. >>> refugees in a town in western germany have been banned from buying and setting off fireworks to mark the new year. the authorities are worried about the possible fire risk in refugees shelter